MONEY – Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins

Paras note: First of all I recommend the book or ebook instead of the audiobook because of the diagrams and figures. Second, the book may sound like it’s focused more on Americans with the 401K but it still has some good views on things. Third, if it gets too much either start or skip straight to the interviews in Chapter 6. I think thats the best way to change your mindset first.

– Provides formulas to calculate your financial freedom amount and variables like buying big things.

– If you choose to find your own fiduciary, below are five key initial criteria you may want to consider when selecting an advisor:

1. Make sure the advisor is registered with the state or the SEC as a registered investment advisor or is an investment advisor representative (IAR) of a registered investment advisor (RIA).

2. Make sure the registered investment advisor is compensated on a percentage of your assets under management, not for buying mutual funds. Make sure this fee is the only fee and is completely transparent. Be sure there are no 12b-1 fees or “pay-to-play” fees being paid as compensation.

3. Make sure the registered investment advisor does not receive compensation for trading stocks or bonds.

4. Make sure the registered investment advisor does not have an affiliation with a broker-dealer. This is sometimes the worst offense when a fiduciary also sells products and gets investment commission as well!

5. With an advisor, you don’t want to just give them your money directly. You want to make sure that your money is held with a reputable third-party custodian, such as Fidelity, Schwab, or TD Ameritrade, which offers 24/7 online account access and sends the monthly statements directly to you.

– Talks about things like getting a filter instead of bottled water and finding cheaper things or even moving around the world to save more.

Investment options with low volatility such as:

1. Cash/Cash Equivalents (such as money market funds with checking privileges)

2. Bonds (such as TIPS, Treasury inflation-protected securities)

3. Market-linked CDs

4. Your home – An asset, but not an investment. This is your sacred sanctuary, so you shouldn’t be “spending” it!

5. Your Pension (if you’re lucky enough to have one)

6. Guaranteed Annuities (a good one!) 

7. Your life insurance policy

8. Structured Notes (One with 100% principal protection, purchased through an Registered Investment Advisor)

These grow slowly, especially at first, but the power of compounding means you can find investments with maximum rewards in a secure.

Example of 7 main asset classes to consider:

1. Equities – another word for stocks, or ownership shares of individual companies or vehicles for owning many of them at once, like mutual funds, indexes, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

2. High-Yield Bonds (aka junk bonds)

3. Real Estate

4. Commodities (gold, silver, oil, coffee, cotton, etc)

5. Currencies

6. Collectibles

7. Structured Notes (anything without 100% principal protection)

The richest billionaraires pay ridiculous amounts of life insurance because income tax can’t touch it.

Living trusts – “The key benefit to using a living trust to own your core assets (your home, brokerage account, and so on) is that if you pass away, those assets will avoid probate—a costly and lengthy procedure of allowing the courts to sort through your assets (and make everything public record). But unlike a will, a living trust can also protect you and your family while you are alive. If you become ill or incapacitated, you can include an incapacity clause that allows someone to step in and handle your bills and other affairs. Don’t let experts tell you that a living trust costs thousands. You can get a template document for free by visiting http://getyourshittogether.org.”

From Warren Buffet – “Indexing is the way to go. Invest in great American businesses without paying all the fees of a mutual fund manager and hang on to those companies, and you will win over the long term! Put 10% in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. (I suggest Vanguard’s.) I believe the trust’s long-term results from this policy will be superior to those attained by most investors—whether pension funds, institutions, or individuals—who employ high-fee managers.”

Look up dollar cost averaging.

Contents

– Epigraph
– Foreword by Elliot Weissbluth, founder and CEO of HighTower
– Introduction by Marc Beniof , founder and CEO of Salesforce.com

SECTION 1 WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: THE JOURNEY BEGINS WITH THIS FIRST STEP
Chapter 1.1: It’s Your Money! It’s Your Life! Take Control
Chapter 1.2: The 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom: Create an Income for Life
Chapter 1.3: Tap the Power: Make the Most Important Financial Decision of Your Life
Chapter 1.4: Money Mastery: It’s Time to Break Through

SECTION 2 BECOME THE INSIDER: KNOW THE RULES BEFORE YOU GET IN THE GAME
Chapter 2.0: Break Free: Shattering the 9 Financial Myths
Chapter 2.1: Myth 1: The $13T Lie: “Invest with Us. We’ll Beat the Market!”
Chapter 2.2: Myth 2: “Our Fees? They’re a Small Price to Pay!”
Chapter 2.3: Myth 3: “Our Returns? What You See Is What You Get”
Chapter 2.4: Myth 4: “I’m Your Broker, and I’m Here to Help”
Chapter 2.5: Myth 5: “Your Retirement Is Just a 401(k) Away”
Chapter 2.6: Myth 6: Target-Date Funds: “Just Set It and Forget It”
Chapter 2.7: Myth 7: “I Hate Annuities, and You Should Too”
Chapter 2.8: Myth 8: “You Gotta Take Huge Risks to Get Big Rewards!”
Chapter 2.9: Myth 9: “The Lies We Tell Ourselves”

SECTION 3 WHAT’S THE PRICE OF YOUR DREAMS? MAKE THE GAME WINNABLE
Chapter 3.1: What’s the Price of Your Dreams?: Make the Game Winnable
Chapter 3.2: What’s Your Plan?
Chapter 3.3: Speed It Up: 1. Save More and Invest the Difference
Chapter 3.4: Speed It Up: 2. Earn More and Invest the Difference
Chapter 3.5: Speed It Up: 3. Reduce Fees and Taxes (and Invest the Difference)
Chapter 3.6: Speed It Up: 4. Get Better Returns and Speed Your Way to Victory
Chapter 3.7: Speed It Up: 5. Change Your Life—and Lifestyle—for the Better

SECTION 4 MAKE THE MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENT DECISION OF YOUR LIFE
Chapter 4.1: The Ultimate Bucket List: Asset Allocation
Chapter 4.2: Playing to Win: The Risk/Growth Bucket
Chapter 4.3: The Dream Bucket
Chapter 4.4: Timing Is Everything?

SECTION 5 UPSIDE WITHOUT THE DOWNSIDE: CREATE A LIFETIME INCOME PLAN
Chapter 5.1: Invincible, Unsinkable, Unconquerable: The All Seasons Strategy
Chapter 5.2: It’s Time to Thrive: Storm-Proof Returns and Unrivaled Results
Chapter 5.3: Freedom: Creating Your Lifetime Income Plan
Chapter 5.4: Time to Win: Your Income Is the Outcome
Chapter 5.5: Secrets of the Ultrawealthy (That You Can Use Too!)

SECTION 6 INVEST LIKE THE .001%: THE BILLIONAIRE’S PLAYBOOK
Chapter 6.0: Meet the Masters
Chapter 6.1: Carl Icahn: Master of the Universe
Chapter 6.2: David Swensen: A $23.9 Billion Labor of Love
Chapter 6.3: John C. Bogle: The Vanguard of Investing
Chapter 6.4: Warren Buffett: The Oracle of Omaha
Chapter 6.5: Paul Tudor Jones: A Modern-Day Robin Hood
Chapter 6.6: Ray Dalio: A Man for All Seasons
Chapter 6.7: Mary Callahan Erdoes: The Trillion-Dollar Woman
Chapter 6.8: T. Boone Pickens: Made to Be Rich, Made to Give
Chapter 6.9: Kyle Bass: The Master of Risk
Chapter 6.10: Marc Faber: The Billionaire They Call Dr. Doom
Chapter 6.11: Charles Schwab: Talking to Chuck, the People’s Broker
Chapter 6.12: Sir John Templeton: The Greatest Investor of the 20th Century?

SECTION 7 JUST DO IT, ENJOY IT, AND SHARE IT!
Chapter 7.1: The Future Is Brighter Than You Think
Chapter 7.2: The Wealth of Passion
Chapter 7.3: The Final Secret

– 7 Simple Steps: Your Checklist for Success 
– Acknowledgments
– Anthony Robbins Companies
– About the Author
– A Note on Sources
– Index
– Permissions

#ads